A representative of Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez bought documents from Biogenesis, the Florida anti-aging clinic linked to performance-enhancing drugs, so they could be destroyed, The New York Times reports.

A Rodriguez spokesman denied the allegations to the newspaper.

A-Rod's attempts to buy the documents spurred Major League Baseball to pay a former employee of a Biogenesis for other Biogenesis documents, according to the Times.

In January, the Miami New Times, an alternative weekly newspaper, reported that Rodriguez was among the big leaguers listed in Biogenesis of America's records.

The New Times said it obtained records detailing purchases by Rodriguez, 2012 All-Star game MVP Melky Cabrera, 2005 AL Cy Young Award winner Bartolo Colon and 2011 AL Championship Series MVP Nelson Cruz.

Other baseball players the New Times said appeared in the records include Washington Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez and San Diego Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal. Later, Yahoo! Sports reported that 2011 NL MVP Ryan Braun's name also appeared in the records.

The players have denied they obtained banned drugs from the clinic that operated out of an office park in Coral Gables, Fla.

MLB commissioner Bud Selig has declined to comment on Biogenesis, other than to say it is the subject of a "very thorough investigation" by MLB.

Payments by the commissioner's office did not exceed more than "several thousand dollars," The New York Times said.

MLB officials decided to take the unusual step of paying for the documents because, with no subpoena power, its investigators would likely have no access to the material if it wound up in the players' hands, The Times reported.

Last month, Major League Baseball sued Biogenesis, and its operators, accusing them of scheming to provide banned performance-enhancing drugs to players in violation of their contracts.